Solicitor or D.I.Y. problem

effinnelle

Hi, I am trying to find out what my friend can do about the following situation:

Following the death of his mother without a will, my friend Dave and his brother and sister are going to inherit the estate. It's total value is approx £100,000, made up from the value of the house and £10,000 savings.

Dave's brother and sister both have families of their own, and a degree of financial stability, whereas Dave has to get by on ESA as he is partially disabled and has other health issues.

Dave's brother has appointed himself as the person who is going to end up as the administrator of the estate, and is using a solicitor to get this first staged done.

1) Isn't this going to be lots more expensive and add nothing extra compared to applying as an individual?
2) Can anyone give me a rough estimate of what the solicitor will charge?
3) Is his brother within his rights to have acted in this way without getting consent from Dave
4)His brother is definitely the one most capable of being the administrator but is there any option available to Dave to get his brother to do it without the solicitor (his brother says he is 'not bothered' about the extra expense, partly as he is well off and partly because after funeral expenses, the total money to spit up is 'only' about £5000

Thank you to anyone that has taken the time to read this, it is much appreciated

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For such a simple estate it is very easy to DIY the probate application. It is well below the inheritance tax nil rate band so the forms are much simplified and it should be granted in about a month.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The brother will probably have to put more effort and time into dealing with a solicitor than to do it himself.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In this situation any of the children can apply for probate, I don't think they even have to mention it to their siblings but it's obviously better to do it by agreement.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]No idea what a solicitor will charge but I can't imagine it will be less than a few thousand.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Won't the money left be £95,000 to split between the three of you not £5,000?

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Dave will need to check if the inheritance will affect his benefits.[/FONT]

Margot123

"Won't the money left be £95,000 to split between the three of you not £5,000?"

The OP is referring to the residue, not the total estate including assets.

Tom99

Margot123 wrote: »

"Won't the money left be £95,000 to split between the three of you not £5,000?"

The OP is referring to the residue, not the total estate including assets.

The £90,000 house will also be split, no debts are mentioned.

Margot123

Tom99 wrote: »

The £90,000 house will also be split, no debts are mentioned.

Just to be clear, the estate comprises tangible assets and ready monies. The ready monies, after any debts are paid and called in, is termed the 'residual estate'. HTH.

Tom99

Margot123 wrote: »

Just to be clear, the estate comprises tangible assets and ready monies. The ready monies, after any debts are paid and called in, is termed the 'residual estate'. HTH.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Any property not specifically gifted is also part of the residual estate, its not just the cash.[/FONT]

SevenOfNine

Q1) Yes, it would probably be a whole lot cheaper for a family member to undertake the task (& possibly quicker as well), particularly with what sounds like a relatively simple estate. The cost with DiY is in 'time' spent as opposed to money.

Q2) Don't know, but a telephone call to a few local solicitors might give Dave a rough idea (we are DiY for the 3rd time right now, & frankly wish we'd dumped this one in the lap of a solicitor - whinging family).

Q3) Hmm, "consent from Dave", TBH not sure about getting "consent", but perhaps brother should have discussed how he felt this process should move forward before actually getting the ball rolling. Though it is a bit strange for a family member who doesn't sound as if they actually want (or feel competent or capable enough) to do this themselves to be complaining because another has taken it on, albeit to pass it to a solicitor. Perhaps Dave is more miffed that brother didn't consult him first?

Q4) There's nothing worse than someone who doesn't actually want to undertake all, or even ANY, of the tasks involved yet quite happy to sit there moaning. Yes, the brother making the decisions may well be the most competent but so what? He clearly doesn't want to spend any of his time bothering with it so enlisted a solicitor.

What does Dave's sister think?

It's a shame that there will be solicitor's costs cutting Dave's inheritance down a bit, when the other 2 may not be bothered that theirs will also be lower, but it seems (perhaps harshly) that Dave has two choices, do it all himself or suck it up!

Of course, the next thing that I think will happen, & Dave isn't going to like, is when the LoA comes through & brother employs a house clearance company to empty the property to prepare for sale. Another cost Dave probably isn't going to like, yet won't want to undertake himself either.

My condolences to Dave, but perhaps he has more time on his hands than his brother so can't see brothers point of view at all, just as brother can't see Dave's (which justifiably may be more financial cost based).

konark

And when Dave's 30 grand hits his bank account it's good-bye MTBs.

OP only said solicitor was helping brother apply for administrator of estate, not being executor themselves, but with a house to sell he'll need a solicitor anyway.

effinnelle

Thanks to everyone, just to provide clarification, Dave is not really capable of doing the administration himself. He was his mum's carer for many years, his sister and brother both clearing off a.s.a.p.leaving Dave pretty much no option but to give up his job and be the carer. Originally, he was going to remain in the house, but it is obvious now he cannot afford to do this, so the 3 of them have agreed to sell the house and buy a more suitable place for him to live, so the money part of the estate is realy all there is to be shared out. Dave's brother is definitely the best person to be the administrator, were it not for him not caring about the solicitor costs

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Its good that the brother and sister are allowing your friend to keep the value of the house. If their own estates are within inheritance tax territory they should consider making the gift via a deed of variation otherwise it will remain part of their estate for the next 7 years.[/FONT]